A ship canal is a canal especially intended to accommodate ships used on the oceans, seas, or lakes to which it is connected. [1]
A ship canal is a canal especially intended to accommodate ships used on the oceans, seas, or lakes to which it is connected. [1]
Ship canals can be distinguished from barge canals, which are intended to carry barges and other vessels specifically designed for river and/or canal navigation. Ships capable of navigating large bodies of open water typically have more draft, and are higher above the water than vessels for inland navigation. A ship canal therefore typically offers deeper water and higher bridge clearances than a barge canal suitable for vessels of similar length and width constraints. [2]
Ship canals may be specially constructed from the start to accommodate ships, or less frequently they may be enlarged barge canals or canalized or channelized rivers. There are no specific minimum dimensions for ship canals, with the size being largely dictated by the size of ships in use nearby at the time of construction or enlargement. [3]
Ship canals may be constructed for a number of reasons, including:
Early canals were connected with natural rivers, either as short extensions or improvements to them. [4]
One of the first canals built was the Grand Canal of China, which was developed over a long period starting in the 5th century BCE. [5] In the modern era, canals in the United Kingdom are typically associated with the Duke of Bridgewater, who hired the engineer James Brindley and had the first canal (the Bridgewater Canal) built that ran over a flowing river. [6]
In the United States, the canal that brought about an age of canal building was the Erie Canal. It was a long-sought-after canal and connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River. [7] This canal initiated a half-century-long boom of canal building and brought about many new features that allowed canals to be used in different areas previously inaccessible to canals. These features include locks, which allow a ship to move between different altitudes, and puddling, which waterproofed the canal. [6]
| Canal name | Year opened | Length | Maximum ship length x beam x draft (m) | Start point | End point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Sea–Baltic Canal | 1933 | 227 km (141 mi) | 135 x 14.3 x 4 |  Russia: Lake Onega | White Sea in Belomorsk |
| Rhine–Main–Danube Canal | 1992 | 171 km (106 mi) | 190 x 11 x 4 |  Germany: Main at Bamberg | Danube at Kelheim |
| Suez Canal | 1869 | 193.3 km (120.1 mi) | Unlimited x 78 x 20 |  Egypt: Port Said | Port Tewfik |
| Volga–Don Canal | 1952 | 101 km (63 mi) | 141 x 17 x 4 | Russia: Volgograd | Tsimlyansk Reservoir |
| Kiel Canal | 1895 | 98 km (61 mi) | 310 x 42 x 14 | Germany: Brunsbüttel | Kiel |
| Houston Ship Channel | 1914 | 80 km (50 mi) | 305 x 161 x 14 |  United States: Houston | Gulf of Mexico |
| Panama Canal | 1914 | 77 km (48 mi) | 366 x 49 x 15 |  Panama: Caribbean | Pacific Ocean |
| Danube–Black Sea Canal | 1984 | 64.4 km (40.0 mi) | 138 x 17 x 6 |  Romania: Danube at Cernavodă | Black Sea at Agigea |
| Manchester Ship Canal | 1894 | 58 km (36 mi) | 183 x 20 x 9 |  United Kingdom: Eastham Locks | Salford Quays |
| Welland Canal | 1932 | 43.4 km (27.0 mi) | 226 x 24 x 8 |  Canada: Lake Ontario at Port Weller | Lake Erie at Port Colborne |
| Saint Lawrence Seaway | 1959 | 600 km (370 mi) | 226 x 24 x 8 | Canada: Port Colborne | Canada: Montreal |
The standard used in the European Union for classifying the navigability of inland waterways is the European Agreement on Main Inland Waterways of International Importance (AGN) of 1996, adopted by The Inland Transport Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), which defines the following classes: [8] [9]
| Class | Tonnage (t) | Draught (m) | Length (m) | Width (m) | Air draught (m) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class III | 1,000 | |||||
| Class IV | 1,000–1,500 | 2.5 | 80–85 | 9.5 | 5.2–7.0 | Johann Welker [8] |
| Class Va | 1,500–3,000 | 2.5–2.8 | 95–110 | 11.4 | 5.2–7.0–9.1 | Large Rhine [8] |
| Class VIb | 6,400–12,000 | 3.9 | 140 | 15 | 9.1 | [8] |
| Class VII | 14,500–27,000 | 2.5–4.5 | 275–285 | 33.0–34.2 | 9.1 | [8] |
Barge typically refers to a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but on inland waterways, most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. The term barge has a rich history, and therefore there are many types of barges.
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management or for conveyancing water transport vehicles. They carry free, calm surface flow under atmospheric pressure, and can be thought of as artificial rivers.
The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east–west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing the costs of transporting people and goods across the Appalachians. The Erie Canal accelerated the settlement of the Great Lakes region, the westward expansion of the United States, and the economic ascendancy of New York state. It has been called "The Nation's First Superhighway".
Maritime transport or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throughout recorded history. The advent of aviation has diminished the importance of sea travel for passengers, though it is still popular for short trips and pleasure cruises. Transport by water is cheaper than transport by air or ground, but significantly slower for longer distances. Maritime transport accounts for roughly 80% of international trade, according to UNCTAD in 2020.
The Great Lakes Waterway (GLW) is a system of natural channels and artificial locks and canals that enable navigation between the North American Great Lakes. Though all of the lakes are naturally connected as a chain, water travel between the lakes was impeded for centuries by obstacles such as Niagara Falls and the rapids of the St. Marys River.
The Portsmouth and Arundel Canal was a canal in the south of England that ran between Portsmouth and Ford in the Arundel district, it was built in 1823 but was never a financial success and was abandoned in 1855; the company was wound up in 1888. The canal was part of a larger scheme for the construction of a secure inland canal route from London to Portsmouth, which allowed craft to move between the two without having to venture into the English Channel and possibly encounter enemy ships or natural disaster. It was built by the Portsmouth & Arundel Navigation company. The canal was made up of three sections: a pair of ship canals, one on Portsea Island and one to Chichester, and a barge canal that ran from Ford on the River Arun to Hunston where it joined the Chichester section of the canal
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is necessary between maritime shipping routes and waterways used by inland water craft. Maritime shipping routes cross oceans and seas, and some lakes, where navigability is assumed, and no engineering is required, except to provide the draft for deep-sea shipping to approach seaports (channels), or to provide a short cut across an isthmus; this is the function of ship canals. Dredged channels in the sea are not usually described as waterways. There is an exception to this initial distinction, essentially for legal purposes, see under international waters.
The canal network of the United Kingdom played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network which, at its peak, expanded to nearly 4,000 miles in length. The canals allowed raw materials to be transported to a place of manufacture, and finished goods to be transported to consumers, more quickly and cheaply than by a land based route. The canal network was extensive and included feats of civil engineering such as the Anderton Boat Lift, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Worsley Navigable Levels and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Worsley to Manchester, and later extended from Manchester to Runcorn, and then from Worsley to Leigh.
The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas. Some sections of the waterway consist of natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, while others are artificial canals. It provides a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea.
A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such as lake or harbour tour boats. As larger water craft, virtually all riverboats are especially designed and constructed, or alternatively, constructed with special-purpose features that optimize them as riverine or lake service craft, for instance, dredgers, survey boats, fisheries management craft, fireboats and law enforcement patrol craft.
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role of recreational boating. Despite a period of abandonment, today the canal system in the United Kingdom is again increasing in use, with abandoned and derelict canals being reopened, and the construction of some new routes. Canals in England and Wales are maintained by navigation authorities. The biggest navigation authorities are the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, but other canals are managed by companies, local authorities or charitable trusts.
The Volkhov is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. The Volkhov, which forms part of the basin of the Neva, is the only outflow of Lake Ilmen, and connects it with Lake Ladoga. The length of the Volkhov is 224 kilometres (139 mi), and the area of its drainage basin is 80,200 square kilometres (31,000 sq mi). The city of Veliky Novgorod, the towns of Kirishi, Volkhov and Novaya Ladoga, and the historically important village of Staraya Ladoga are located along the Volkhov.
The modern terms short-sea shipping, marine highway and motorways of the sea, as well as the more historical terms coastal trade, coastal shipping, coasting trade and coastwise trade, all encompass the movement of cargo and passengers mainly by sea along a coast, without crossing an ocean.
A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel to pass safely. Navigability is also referred to in the broader context of a body of water having sufficient under keel clearance for a vessel.
The inland waterways of the United States include more than 25,000 mi (40,000 km) of navigable waters. Much of the commercially important waterways of the United States consist of the Mississippi River System—the Mississippi River and connecting waterways.
Inland navigation, inland barge transport or inland waterway transport (IWT) is a transport system allowing ships and barges to use inland waterways. These waterways have inland ports, marinas, quays, and wharfs.
The West Coast Canal or National Waterway No 3 is a 205 km (127 mi) long inland navigational route located in Kerala, India, which runs from Kollam to Kottapuram. It was declared a National Waterway in 1993. In addition to the main stretch, Champakara and Udyogmandal canals are navigable and connect the industrial centers of Kochi to Kochi port Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Shipping is coordinating the task for developing, monitoring and administering national waterways. It is the first National Waterway in the country with 24-hour navigation facilities along the entire stretch. It has been extended to Kozhikode by the National Waterways Act, 2016. The National Waterway 3 mainly passes through the previous Thiruvananthapuram–Shoranur canal.
The Classification of European Inland Waterways is a set of standards for interoperability of large navigable waterways forming part of the Trans-European Inland Waterway network within Continental Europe and Russia. It was created by the European Conference of Ministers of Transport in 1992, hence the range of dimensions are also referred to as CEMT Class I–VII.
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